I wasn't going to mention guns, the NRA, the horror of last weekend again until after Christmas, but I came upon a video of an MSNBC segment showing Lawrence O'Donnell condemning NRA president Wayne LaPierre for his press conference about the Newtown massacre in a special edition of his show. Please watch it, from that link, or below - and pass it on wherever you can. O'Donnell's style is exactly on point for such a commentary - quietly determined, clearly reasoned, deeply angered but avoiding passionate outburst. We need more like this!
Not yer usual Christmas card - but always good for laugh, and we could use a few of those!
A seasonal cut-out animation made by Terry Gilliam in 1968 for British TV show Do Not Adjust Your Set. That was the show featuring other cast members who would later become Monty Python's Flying Circus.
"We have the best armed mass murders in the world, thanks to Wayne LaPierre.............Is there really something to quibble about in how powerful a bullet is when it is heading toward a six-year-old at the speed of 3200 feet per second? What kind of desperate, cornered rat would dare to mention that the Sandy Hook shooter could have used a more powerful bullet? Could have what? Done more damage? Made the bodies of six-year-olds even more difficult to identify?" - Lawrence O'Donnell
Not yer usual Christmas card - but always good for laugh, and we could use a few of those!
A seasonal cut-out animation made by Terry Gilliam in 1968 for British TV show Do Not Adjust Your Set. That was the show featuring other cast members who would later become Monty Python's Flying Circus.
These two individuals take the words right out of my mouth...
ReplyDeleteTwo quotes from Leigh Oswald:
"...extremist (Pluto) stances taken by many are the primitive human responses to fears about survival."
"What is the definition of a civilised society? That is a big question now and it is not a question that is asked, as we assume we live in one, whilst not questioning the criteria."
Quote from Jason Alexander responding to the Aurora shooting and assault rifles:
I have been reading on and off as advocates for these weapons make their excuses all day long. Guns don’t kill – people do. Well if that’s correct, I go with @BrooklynAvi, let them kill with tomatoes. Let them bring baseball bats, knives, even machetes — a mob can deal with that.
There is no excuse for the propagation of these weapons. They are not guaranteed or protected by our constitution. If they were, then we could all run out and purchase a tank, a grenade launcher, a bazooka, a SCUD missile and a nuclear warhead. We could stockpile napalm and chemical weapons and bomb-making materials in our cellars under our guise of being a militia.
These weapons are military weapons. They belong in accountable hands, controlled hands and trained hands. They should not be in the hands of private citizens to be used against police, neighborhood intruders or people who don’t agree with you. These are the weapons that maniacs acquire to wreak murder and mayhem on innocents. They are not the same as handguns to help homeowners protect themselves from intruders. They are not the same as hunting rifles or sporting rifles. These weapons are designed for harm and death on big scales.
mike ~~~ Whole-heartedly agree!
ReplyDeleteThis from William Rivers Pitt:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/william-rivers-pitt/47228/shooting-is-business-and-business-is-good
Shooting is business, and business is good.
So, yeah...not to put too fine a point on it, but anyone who claims guns are not the problem needs a nap. Of course the insane prevalence of guns in America is a problem. Of course it is. Every from-my-cold-dead-hands gun-lover crowing about the man in China who slashed 22 shoolchildren on the same day as the Newtown massacre glossed over the fact that all those Chinese kids survived the experience...and that one incident of non-gun violence piled up against the five-dozen high-profile gun massacres endured by Americans since the Reagan administration means you're wrong, cope with it, and become part of the solution for a change.
You need an AK-47, you need an AR-15, to defend yourself against the government? Cool story, bro. The government has nuclear weapons, stealth bombers, Aegis warships, drones, SEALs and the United States fa-chrisakes Marines. Good luck with that; send me a note from the front. You don't need it. You want it, and therein lies the end of the argument.
Twilight, you've probably been reading what I read. I'm fascinated that gun sales and ammo are through-the-roof right now, as a response to the recent shooting. It's Christmas and I guess these weapons make fabulous gifts for themselves, family, and friends. Better grab them while they can! I read that the USA has an estimated 200 million guns in distribution currently (probably just increased by a million or two)...lawd knows how many rounds of ammunition are out there.
ReplyDeleteOther countries have their problems, too...maybe not guns, per se. I'm just as saddened by the recent disclosure from India about the five guys that raped a young woman, then threw her from the bus...she's in critical condition. Syria's Assad assaulting his citizenry with scud rockets. Yes, I could go on and on, but you get my point.
We humans are pitiful reflections of the cosmic. Maybe it's like you have stated, Twilight, Earth's position amongst the other planets and our Sun...maybe we humans have to suffer through this, because of some unknown affliction. Or as in the story of Lucifer, we simply have to become sick and tired of our separation from the divine before we can assimilate our way back to the creator.
mike ~~ Craziness! Paranoia.
ReplyDeleteYes, agreed, the US isn't alone in dealing with societal ills, cruelty, inhumanity. The difference here is that the worst of it COULD be curbed - not eliminated, but curbed if the will to do so existed. This is the test.
I dare not say this to anyone outside of this blog, because I do not enjoy being ridiculed by those who are blinkered, but I do believe that our position in the solar system endows us with a good amount of aggressive instinct, enough to survive the challenges of man's very earliest days, and possibly the reason why the trait wasn't faded out in evolution over many thousands of centuries.
We're also endowed with traits to counteract the aggressive instincts, though. Teachers through the ages have tried to show us how to do this, but their teachings have been hi-jacked by other organisations who have used them to profit and gain control.
Sigh.
with sinking heart I hear and read the sickening defence of these assault weapons which belong in no civilized citizenry. what have we become?
ReplyDeleteAlso your comments are enlightening, T.
A peaceful holiday season to you and Himself.
XO
WWW
Wisewebwoman ~~ I can't stomach much of the commentary defending assault weapons and extension of gun use - before becoming nauseous. As I've just commented elsewhere, sometimes I feel as though I'm living in an asylum!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good wishes, WWW - and same back atcha, warmly with some pretty, sparkly tinkling bells on - and a big hug.! ;-)
This is about the best one on the issue and its consequences:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/UFIpoL3jrfo
You have a restful day tomorrow, Twilight.
James Higham ~~ Thank you, James. I hope your Christmas is happy, warm and peaceful too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link - I watched the video. It relates to the "Fast & Furious" thing, it's not 100% relevant to the current issues, but I can see a veiled implication. We'd be getting deep into into conspiracy theory territory with that, in order to link it to the Newtown tragedy. I'm not keen to go there - not today.